Willis marched boldly on towards the natives, and when he arrived
beside the old man, the crowd opened up and formed an avenue through
which a chief advanced, followed by a number of men, seemingly
priests, who carried a grotesque-looking figure that Jack presumed to
be an idol. The figure was made up of wicker-work--was of colossal
height--the features, which represented nothing on earth beneath nor
heaven above, were inconceivably hideous--the eyes were discs of
mother-of-pearl, with a nut in the centre--the teeth were apparently
those of a shark, and the body was covered with a mantle of red
feathers.
At the command of the chief, some of the natives advanced and placed a
quantity of bananas, bread-fruits, and other vegetables at the Pilot's
feet; the priests then came forward and knelt down before him, and
seemed to worship after the fashion of the ancients when they paid
their devotions to the Eleusinian goddess, or the statue of Apollo.
Meanwhile, Jack, on his side, was likewise surrounded by the natives,
who was treated with much less ceremony than Willis. Instead of
falling down on their knees, each of them, one after the other, rubbed
their noses against his, and then danced round him with every
demonstration of savage joy.
Jack had now an opportunity of observing the personages about him more
in detail.
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